Mercurial Gemma Arterton provided the spark that sold Tamara Drewe to cinema audiences, and she’s the main attraction again in this latest Posy Simmonds adaptation. Arterton plays Gemma Bovery (the on-screen title initially withholds the “G”), a restless Brit who decamps to bucolic Normandy, where her life imitates that of literature’s most infamously bored housewife. Under the lustful gaze of Flaubert fan Martin (Fabrice Luchini, all startled eyes and hangdog mouth), Gemma is soon bedding the local young buck, unnoticed by husband Charlie (Jason Flemyng), who’s too busy restoring antiques to keep track of his marriage.
Arterton has flirty fun with the title role, and her scenes with Luchini boast a satirical crackle that’s missing elsewhere. Cinematographer Christophe Beaucarne drools over the picturesque landscapes while Bruno Colais’s music combines plinky comedic strings with a hint of intrigue, but the odd blend of oo-er sexual shenanigans (bumbling Martin being told to “suck me!” after Gemma is stung by a bee) and somewhat weightier tragedy never quite gels. Still, Arterton is a joy, even when tasked with carrying some of her less able compatriots through the light and shade of Anne Fontaine’s flawed but flimsily likable film.
